Monsters!
by KLFoxglove
Summary: Human AU. Alfred Jones and Arthur Kirkland were going to spend halloween at a house party, but when the power goes out, madness ensues and Arthur gets himself kidnapped. Alfred goes to rescue him, but this Halloween night has a whole lot more surprises...
1. The Halloween Party

_A halloween fic... in December. Yes, I know. I'm wierd._

* * *

**Monsters!**

**Chapter One**

**The Halloween Party**

"Arthur! Hey Arthur!"

As much as Arthur Kirkland would have wanted to ignore the loud American-accented voice, he knew that if he did, its owner would never cease to shut up. Slowing to a stop, he turned his head towards the source of the noise.

One Alfred F Jones.

An American through and through, Alfred was younger than Arthur - by how much, he didn't know, he never bothered to ask, and Alfred didn't seem to care either - and was practically everything Arthur was not.

He was boisterous, talkative and better at athletics than Arthur could ever hope, not that he'd ever tell the American that. Alfred always happily declared that they were friends, which Arthur, naturally, outwardly scoffed at. Inwardly, though, Arthur accepted this. Nobody else would put up with his bossy attitude and short temper - except, perhaps, that 'French frog' Francis - so to have at least one person who was willing to be friends was at the very least quite reassurring to the Brit.

"What is it, Alfred? Hurry it up, I'll be late for English Literature," Arthur said, wearing his trademark frown on his face. Alfred pouted at the latter half of the sentance before returning to his eager and over-excited expression.

"You know today's Halloween, right?" He exclaimed, beaming brightly at Arthur who seemed to become more irritated as the seconds rolled by.

"If that's all you wanted to say to me, Alfred," Arthur began, starting to turn away from Alfred to begin his walk to his next lecture again, before he was stopped by the American grabbing him by the arm and turning him around again.

"No no no no! That's not it, I was just saying," Alfred quickly sputtered before collecting himself again, "No, today's Halloween, right? Right! So, Francis said - Wait, Arthur, just listen!"

Upon hearing the name "Francis", Arthur decided that whatever Alfred had to say wasn't worth listening to anymore, and had begun to walk away again. But Alfred, once again, grabbed him by the arm and stood in front of him, blocking his path. "Arthu-" "Alfred, whatever that bloody _Frog_ is doing today is not interesting 'in the least' for me, so I don't want to hear it," The exasperated Brit stated quite sternly, wanting to get it into Alfred's thick skull _that he didn't give a toss_.

"I know, but, please, at least hear me out," Alfred was now pouting. This was exactly what happened if someone tried to ignore him. Knowing that he'd definately be late for his lecture if he kept insisting on not listening, Arthur sighed and told his American friend to carry on. Now wearing a huge triumphant smile on his face, Alfred began speaking again.

"So, anyway, Francis told me he's having a Halloween party at his place tonight, it'll be all fancy wear, man! There'll be booze and everything! So, um, I was thinking.." He trailed off slightly, looking to the ground then back at Arthur again, as if contemplating something. Arthur had a feeling he already knew what was going to be asked. "I was thinking.. if you wanted to come?"

Arthur's expression remained unchanged. Of course. _Of course_ Alfred wanted him to come. In the American's opinion, Arthur wasn't having enough "fun". So of course he'd ask.

"No," Was his reply.

Later on in the day, Arthur regretted saying that.

It wasn't because he actually wanted to go after all. It was because Alfred _would not_ accept that as a legitimate answer. Every spare moment he had between classes for the rest of the day was spent trying to ignore Alfred's pleas. It was getting annoying. What was so great about a party anyway? Especially one hosted by Francis bloody Bonnefoy. The frenchman was a well known pervert and womanizer, not to mention he kept sprinkling his sentences with french words and phrases - and that annoyed Arthur to no end. What made the man worse that he took delight in teasing Arthur in every possible way.

And he meant _every. Possible. Way._

"Pleeeeaaaase Arthur, I'll make sure Francis doesn't do anything wierd, I promise! So please come!" Alfred was sitting across from him at a table in a currently unused room Arthur was using to finish up some assignments. Needless to say, with all of Alfred's chatter, Arthur didn't get much done.

"If I say yes, will you stop nagging me?" Arthur spat, he was getting quite tired of this. Alfred's face immedeately took on a bright and cheery expression with served to irritate Arthur slightly. He immedeately leaped out of his chair and fist pumped the air in triumph. _How childish._

"Yeeeeeeeeessssssssss! Score one for the hero!". A yes, the hero business. Alfred fancied himself a hero, though Arthur thought differently on the matter. Alfred sat back down and leaned across the table to get closer to Arthur, who instinctively leaned back in his chair a little. "We _totally_ gotta get you some good clothes, man!"

Arthur gulped.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

**xoxox**

Francis' party started at eight. Alfred's last class of the day was at three. Arthur's was at four.

Alfred spent nearly three hours dragging Arthur around the stores for something to wear that night.

Arthur felt it to be the most excrutiating three hours of his life.

In the end, the two bought an assortment of clothes to make up their party-wear. Alfred wore a white dress shirt, an unbuttoned black waistcoat, a pair of dark brown pants, a pair of dark brown shoes, a bright orange jacket (Arthur - "why _orange_!"), a pair of black gloves and finally a white plastic hockey mask, which was held on the left side of his head.

Arthur wore a blue waistcoat - buttoned up - which was worn over a black and white striped dress shirt, a dark blue cape, a pair of white pants, a pair of black shoes and a pair of black gloves. Naturally, Arthur thought he was dressed better than Alfred.

Alfred thought he kinda looked like an old man.

The two arrived at Francis' place sometime around half past eight, and were greeted at the door by the Frenchman himself and Geraint, one of Arthur's older half-brothers.

"Ah, Arthur! I see Alfred convinced you to come! How wonderfull!" Francis' slightly accented voice grated on Arthur the moment he heard it. He scowled at the frenchman and looked him over before deciding his brother was more interesting to speak to.

Francis was dressed almost completely in white, with only the cuffs and collar of his long coat bieng blue. His shoulder length blonde hair was tied back with a lacy white ribbon, making Arthur believe he looked too feminine for his liking. Well, Arthur didn't much like long hair on any guy.

"Geraint," He began, acknowledging his older half-brother who stood closely behind Francis at the door. Alfred had begun an animated conversation with Francis behind Arthur's back. "I wasn't aware that you'd be here,".

Geraint was around the same height as Arthur - which came as somewhat of a relief to him, Alfred and Francis were both taller than him - and he also shared the same green eyes as him. What made him different, was his hair and voice. His hair was brown and was down to his shoulders - Arthur hated this, and would always tell Geraint this - and was often not combed or tidied, making it look a mess. His voice was soft and slightly airy, only becoming rough and harsh if he lost his temper - something else the two shared, a short temper. He also held a slight Welsh accent, a remnant of his childhood spent in Wales. This evening Geraint was dressed in all black - a stark contrast to Francis - a long sleeved shirt and pair of jeans, with what Arthur could only guess as a blanket slung over his shoulders in a somewhat half-hearted attempt at a cloak.

"Uh, well, yeah," He began, shuffling in place, "Francis invited me,".

What kind of fascination did Francis have with Geraint? Arthur really didn't want to know.

"I asked Iain and Isabeal to come, too," Geraint continued, keeping Arthur's attention on him. Before Arthur could grace Geraint with a reply, Alfred grabbed him by the arm and dragged him inside. Geraint followed the two as quickly as he could, Francis following closely - a little too closely, Geraint felt.

Francis somehow scooted in front of Alfred and Arthur, and, wearing a smile that Arthur felt was a bit lecherous, led them to a room where the so-called party was bieng held. Once he stepped into the room, he saw who it was that Francis had invited.

Sitting on the couch were three people; Feliciano Vargas, an Italian arihead if Arthur remembered correctly, who was wearing a green waistcoat over a pale cream dress shirt, and a pair of brown pants tucked into a pair of black boots. To his left was Ludwig Beilschmidt, a rather stoic German with whom Feliciano was talking very excitedly to, he simply wore a black dress shirt, pale cream jeans and black shoes. Arthur couldn't understand how the two were as good friends as they were. Then again, his only friend was _Alfred_. To Ludwig's left sat the German's older brother, Gilbert Beilschmidt, who grinned quite mischieviously at the one-sided conversation his brother and Feliciano were having. Gilbert wore a black hoodie and what looked like a black and white striped shirt underneath it, a pair of blue jeans and black shoes.

If Arthur had to hazard a guess, it'd be that Feliciano and Gilbert were invited, and Ludwig was dragged along. It was well known around University of Gilbert and Francis' friendship, as well as Francis' strange fixation on Feliciano.

Then again, Francis had a strange fixation on a quite a few people. (Much to Arthur's annoyance, since he was one such fixation).

On another couch were a further two people; Lovino Vargas, Feliciano's older brother, who dressed similarly to his brother, only his clothes were of a darker colour, and next to him, smiling brightly and trying to start a conversation, was Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, a bit of a dim Spaniard, if you were to ask Arthur. He cocked an eyebrow at Antonio, more specifically, at what he was wearing.

_Why the bloody hell is he dressed like a matador?_

Arthur decided to keep the thought to himself.

Antonio was another of Francis' close friends - Arthur wasn't even going to _attempt_ to figure out _how_ - and Arthur guessed that Lovino was here either because of Feliciano, or Antonio.

Or perhaps both.

"Aw, man, Mattie ain't here yet!" Whined Alfred as he sat himself down on an empty armchair. Geraint quickly brushed past Arthur and sat next to Gilbert, probably to avoid Francis.

"Well, neither are Iain and Isabeal," He began, looking to Aflred's direction, "It is only half past eight,"

"_Oui_, the party has just barely begun, Alfred, dearest _Matthieu_ won't be long, I'm sure~" Sang Francis as he waltz to the middle of the room. Arthur frowned.

Matthew Williams. Alfred's twin. Their parent's seperated when they were young, explaining the differing surnames. The two looked similar, but Matthew's eyes were of a violet hue instead of Alfred's bright blue, and his hair was longer and wavier. Matthew was a whole lot quieter than Alfred, and quite timid to boot. He was often forgotten about. Well, to everyone except Francis and Gilbert.

Arthur sighed to himself. This was going to be a long night.

**xoxox**

It was now ten o'clock.

Matthew had arrived about ten minutes after Alfred and Arthur, wearing a black and red hoodie and black jeans. Alfred had scolded him for not even attempting to dress up, but Matthew shrugged him off rather easily.

At around nine thirty, Arthur's remaining siblings had turned up; Iain and Isabeal. For some inexplicable reason, Isabeal had brought along Seanan, who, at 16, became the youngest guest at the party. All three were half-siblings to Arthur and Geraint, Iain was the oldest, followed by Isabeal, and Seanan was the youngest. Well, not the youngest of Arthur's dysfunctional family, given that they had yet another half-brother who was younger than Seanan somewhere in England. They all shared a father, of which none had any contact with, and all grew up seperately. Arthur once questioned the chances of them all coming to live in the same area against all odds once, but no longer bothered with the strange coincidence.

Iain, a fairly tall man with straight, shoulder length reddish-brown hair, came wearing a grey dress shirt, a pair of ripped jeans and a pair of old trainers. Isabeal wore a dark red dress that was deliberately torn and ripped at the ends, it complimenting her own long red curly hair. Seanan - sharing the same red hair as Isabeal, but cut as short as Arthur's, to his delight - wore a sweatervest and a pair of ripped jeans. He, like his half-sister, had his face be plastered with freckles. Each shared the same green eyes as Arthur and Geraint.

So now Arthur sat, holding a beer can in one hand, on the couch he'd commandeered off Lovino and Antonio when the two agreed to play a drinking game with Gilbert and Matthew. Ludwig and Feliciano had not moved from the couch Arthur saw them in when he first arrived, the only change in picture bieng that Ludwig was drinking beer and Feliciano some wine. Isabeal had begun getting drunk almost as soon as she started drinking - as much as she loved alcohol, the poor girl could never hold the stuff - and Seanan sat beside her, looking as if he were looking out for her but was in fact snatching a drink of her alcohol when she wasn't looking. _How on earth did he convince his mother to let him come?_ Arthur thought to himself.

Francis had noticed the inebriated woman and was now clearly trying to take advantage of her, first luring Seanan away with a can of beer - _giving alcohol to minors, tut tut, Frog_ - then taking a seat next to her. He was foiled before his plan truly begun, as Iain - now in 100% protective big brother mode - had noticed what he was doing and was now angrily chasing him around the room.

Arthur supressed a chuckle. It was funny, seeing the frenchman run, absolutely terrified, from the tall, angry scotsman. Geraint was trying in vain to stop him. Seanan found it just as funny as Arthur, and made no attempt to hide it.

"You ok, Arthur? You're not getting drunk like Izzy, aren't you?" Came a voice from Arthur's right. It was Alfred. The American was keeping himself close to Arthur for some undiscernable reason, but the alcohol was making Arthur care less than he usually would.

"Pft, no," _Yes_. Alfred let out a laugh, chugging his own can happily. "If I get drunk, and I get a hangover, I'm blaming you, yank," Arthur mumbled, finishing off his own can. Alfred just laughed harder in reply.

Without warning, all the lights in Francis' house turned off. This caused a chain of events.

"What?" It was Iain, he'd stopped his chasing of Francis to ponder the situation.

"Ow! Francis!" "Ooh~ We're in an interesting position, Geraint~" "J-just get off me!"

Francis didn't realise he wasn't bieng chased anymore, and ran into Geraint, considering he couldn't see where he was going.

"Aaah! Blackout! Ludwig! Protect me!" Feliciano started to cling to Ludwig in fright, and the German did his best to reassure Feliciano that nothing would happen - it was just a blackout.

"Aah, how un-awesome. Francis, your flashlight's in the kitchen, right?" Gilbert. Arthur could not see where he was, but could hear him walk across the room.

"_Oui_, but I'm not sure if they have batteries,". Arthur had a feeling Francis was on his feet again, as his voice sounded as if it was coming from higher up above him. He then heard someone walking again, and guessed it was probably Gilbert leaving the room to find the flashlight.

_Hee... hee... hee..._

"What the _fuck_ was that?" Lovino questioned, sounding irritated and freaked out at the same time.

Alfred stiffened. What if it was a_ ghost_? He may be a hero, but ghosts are freaking _creepy_! To comfort himself, he clung to Arthur.

"Oh piss off, Alfred! Let go!", Arthur was batting his head with his empty can, but it wasn't doing much to budge Alfred. Alfred ignored the tapping of the can on his head and turned his head to where he thought Francis was standing.

"Francis, you fucker! You're is fucking _haunted_!" He yelled, causing Arthur to hit him a little harder this time, making Alfred let out a tiny yelp. Feliciano could be heard whining a little to Ludwig, and Francis made a disbelieving sound, and Alfred imagined him rolling his eyes, too.

"Alfred, ghosts aren't real, they're fictional," Scoffed the Frenchman, sighing to himself. Alfred felt challenged by the denial, so he leaped to his feet to start counter-arguing.

"They so are real! Didn't you hear that giggling just now?" He argued, clenching his fists and temproarily forgetting about his fear.

"It was probably just Gilbert, trying to scare us. You are aware of what he's like," Countered Francis. Alfred gritted his teeth. Yes, this did sound like something Gilbert would do for kicks, but Alfred felt as though it was someone else making the noise. _Damn, is this what Arthur feels when we say fairies aren't real?_

A howl broke out in the distance.

The whole room went quiet.

"Aaah it's a wolf!" Alfred heard Feliciano move closer to Ludwig, and he imagined him wrapping his arms around the German tightly. "Protect me, Ludwig, it's going to eat me!"

Alfred heard a heavy sigh from behind him, he turned around to look despite not bieng able to see in the dark. "Oh calm down, it's just a dog or something,", oh, it was Iain. It wasn't hard to tell, since his Scottish accent was rather heavy. "Iain is right, we don't get wolves in the UK,", came another voice from behind Alfred. He didn't turn to look this time, since he knew it was just Arthur. Despite bieng told this, it was obvious from his wimpers that Feliciano was still not letting go of his grip on Ludwig. Alfred heard him heave a long-sufferring sigh.

_I've been in England for almost a year now, but I've never heard a dog howling like that before.._ Alfred thought to himself.

"Tonight's just getting creepier and creepier," Stated Matthew, but, as usual, no one took notice of his quiet voice.

"Lovi~, you can hold on to me if you're scared!" Antonio's cheery voice stole the attention of the room, and Alfred automatically pictured his smiling face. Alfred heard Antonio bieng hit, but obviously not that hard since he didn't react very loudly.

"As if I'd ever cling to you!" Came Lovino's voice, which sounded as if he was attempting to hide any fear he had, "And I'm not scared!" The older Italian added as an afterthought. Alfred heard Antonio giggle lightly in return, and imagined that the comment musn't have phased him that much.

"Oh, Isabeal's passed out," Came Seanan's Irish voice. Alfred heard someone getting to their feet and walk across the room.

"I told her not to drink so much," Came an exasperated airy voice, it was Geraint. "I don't want to drag her sorry ass back to the dorms,"

"Couldn't find the stupid flashlight," Came Gilbert's voice as he returned. Alfred heard him continue to walk across the room. "We'd probably get some light if we open the blinds, though,"

Alfred heard someone else begin to walk, "Ah, of course, the streetlights should give us enough light to see,", Just Francis. Alfred figured he must've followed Gilbert to open the blinds. Alfred inwardly thanked whoever invented streetlamps as the blinds were opened, as he could now actually see everyone in the room now.

Like he thought, Feliciano was indeed clinging onto Ludwig for dear life, while Ludwig looked tense at the close contact. Antonio was smiling brightly at Lovino, while the latter was scowling and facing away from the Spaniard. Isabeal was sprawled across the floor with Seanan and Geraint sitting next to her, and Alfred saw Iain walking over to them as well. Gilbert and Francis stayed near the window, talking about how to get the power back.

Between Francis and Gilbert's chatter, Feliciano's whining, Lovino's angry noises, and Arthur's heavy sighing made the room a lot less quiet. It was still not as loud as it had been, but Alfred welcomed it anyway. If there was one thing he'd never admit to, it was that total silence bothered him a lot. He heard Iain grunting and, turning to look at him, saw that he had lifted Isabeal up.

"Francis, I'm taking Isabeal to somewhere more quiet for her to lie down," He stated, turning to walk out of the room without even looking at Francis' direction, "Hopefully I can get the stupid little twat to wake up," He muttered under his own breath, though Alfred managed to catch it. Geraint and Seanan followed their older half-brother out of the room, Geraint pausing momentarily to glance at Arthur before continuing. Alfred then heard a quiet, barely audible sigh that almost made him jump until he realised it was just Matthew. Turning to face him, he silently scolded himself for briefly forgetting about his twin before walking over to him and sitting next to him.

Before Alfred could get a word out to his brother, the room was silenced again by a rumble of low growls.

"Freaky," Matthew breathed, as Felicino began whining louder and burying himself further into Ludwig, while Alfred caught Lovino inching a little closer to Antonio, whose attention was elsewhere. To try and get his mind off the noises that were disturbing him, Alfred faced Arthur and asked for the time.

"Nearly twenty to eleven," The Brit unenthusiasically replied. He muttered something else under his breath that Alfred couldn't quite catch the entierty of, only hearing _Waste of time_, which Alfred assumed meant the party.

The growling errupted once again, this time quite clearly louder.

"This is getting extremely unnerving..." Ludwig managed to say after a few moments of silence. Feliciano replied by burying his face into Ludwig's chest, wimpering softly in fright.

"Oh, _Bruder_, you're such a wimp!" Laughed Gilbert, though it was obvious to Francis, still standing next to him near the window, that he was getting nervous as well.

Alfred tried to make sense of the growling. They first heard giggling, which Francis was convinced was only Gilbert playing a prank. But then, if that were the case, why didn't he say anything about it? They then heard the howling, which both Iain and Arthur were convinced was just a dog, but Alfred wasn't so sure himself. The growls came afterwards, getting progressively louder. Alfred knew no one said anything because they wanted to believe it was nothing, but he felt as though something was wrong, something was going to happen. The howling and the growling could very well have been a dog, but that only meant that there was a potentially dangerous animal outside. Yet none of that reasoning explained the giggling. Alfred knew it wasn't Gilbert, but couldn't prove it. He was afraid of it bieng a ghost, but that thought was better than it bieng a stranger in the house, right?

_Either way, that's a bad thing..._

Alfred was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of shattering glass and frightened screams - which Alfred thought belonged to both Vargas brothers. He looked to the window and his heart skipped a beat at the sight.

A dog.

A very big dog.

And it looked _vicious._

Gilbert and Francis, the two closest to the window, looked as if they had only just managed to scramble out of the way, Gilbert looking surprised and Francis looking frightened and slightly confused. Alfred leaped to his feet, and did a quick scan of the room to find where everyone was.

Matthew, who had been sitting silently beside him on the floor, was already on his feet and racing to the hallway. Alfred caught a part of a sentance spoken by his twin hurriedly, something about going to Iain and Geraint. Alfred didn't care that Matthew had been first to bolt - it just reassured him that his family was safe and away from danger. Alfred quickly stepped to the side to avoid bieng bitten by the massive beast and watched as both Ludwig and Gilbert - both at opposite sides of the room, with Ludwig holding Feliciano protectively - threw an assortment of things at the dog to get it to stop lunging at Alfred.

He felt something brush against his side, and turned just in time to see Antonio leading Lovino out of the room. That was good. More people are safe. That was good. He was almost bowled over by Francis a moment afterwards, who was muttering a vast array of French to himself in a panic. Alfred didn't know what he was saying - he sucked at French in high school, and besides, Matthew was fluent so he felt as though he didn't need to know - but ignored it to look at the dog again.

It was now mostly harrasing Ludwig and Feliciano, but occasionally turning around briefly to snap at Gilbert, who looked extremely determined. _Big brother mode_ Alfred thought,_ A brother's greatest asset!_

_Wait, Arthur!_

Alfred mentally slapped himself for his stupidity, and turned to the couch Arthur was sitting on.

Only to find it empty.

_He's not there?_ Alfred quickly scanned the room, but didn't see the Brit anywhere. _He must've already left,_

Satisfied that his friend was somewhere safe, he put his full attention on the scene in front of him. The dog stood between Ludwig and Feliciano and the door, effectively trapping them where they were. Gilbert was doing an honourable job at trying to distract the thing, but Feliciano's cries kept bringing its attention back to them. _Time to be a hero_, Alfred thought, and bounded to Gilbert's side.

He grabbed anything he could easily lift and threw it at the huge dog - mostly cans and bottles, some empty, some full - and yelled loudly, hoping that he could get it's attention and keep it long enough for Ludwig and Feliciano to go. Beside him Gilbert was also yelling while throwing things, the only difference bieng that he was yelling angrily in German. Between the two, they managed to finally get the dog to start harrassing them instead, which in turn, forced the two to start backing off a little as it started to creep towards them.

When Alfred got a good look at the dog, something in his head clicked into place. The previous howling and growling instantly replayed and he suddenly realised why he was so unsure of wether they were really hearing dogs or not.

"It's a wolf!" Alfred felt himself yelling in horror, subsequently hearing Feliciano scream in fright. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to voice it so loudly. He shook the thoughts away - this wasn't important, what was was keeping the dog - _wolf, wolf, it's a fucking **wolf**_ - occupied with himself and Gilbert. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ludwig and Feliciano exit the room swiftly, and smirked in triumph.

_Job done,_

"Great! _Bruder_ and Feliciano have gone," Gilbert breathed beside him, still throwing things, "I have an idea, help me grab that coffee table!"

Without thinking or wondering why Gilbert needed this coffee table, Alfred did as he was told, and looked at Gilbert once before the albino gave a very confident smirk.

"Throw it!"

And they did.

The wolf let out a very satisfying yelp of pain and surprise as the small table landed on it, and, without hesitating, Alfred and Gilbert ran out of the room themselves. While Gilbert carried on through the hallway, Alfred stopped and turned back to the doorway of the room, and slammed the door shut, hoping to keep the vicious wolf at bay.

_A wolf.._ Alfred stared at the shut door, the whole house now eerily quiet. _There are no wolves in the UK, so where did that one come from?_

Alfred walked to the next room over, the one Iain had taken Isabeal to, to see if either he or Matthew were still there. Peering in, he saw the room was empty, and briefly wondered where everyone could be, and why the house was so quiet.

"Alfred!". _Arthur?_

The American went back out into the hallway to see his friend running towards him in the hallway. Alfred ran up to him, meeting him just outside the room the wolf was shut into. Arthur looked out of breath and slightly shaken, but was otherwise unharmed.

"Arthur! What's wrong?"

"There's a man in the house, Alfred! He's tried taking me, we need to go, **now**" Arthur said with determination, facing Alfred with genuinely fearfull eyes. Before Alfred could reply, the two were knocked to the ground, with such a tremendous force that it knocked Arthur out. Summoning all his energy, Alfred leaped to his feet and faced whatever it was that ran into them.

Arthur was right, there was a man in the house. And Alfred was staring at him. Feeling very angry and protective - thinking about what happened to Arthur only seconds before - Alfred charged him with the full intent on taking him out. The man smirked amusedely, making Alfred a little more irritated, and simply grabbed the front of Alfred's shirt as he got close enough, holding him as if he were a rag doll. Then, with such strength Alfred had never seen in a man, threw Alfred into the door of the front room - the same one the wolf had crashed minutes before - causing it to break off its hinges. Alfred landed in a heap on the floor of the room, momentarily winded and dumfounded.

_Arthur_

Alfred got to his feet as quickly as he could, and exited the room just in time to see the abnormally strong man leave through the front door - holding Arthur over his shoulder.

"Get back here right now, bastard!" Alfred yelled as loudly as he could, running as fast as he could towards him. The man looked back, still smirking arrogantly, and broke into a run himself - easily tripling the speed Alfred was running at.

The American did not let this get to him, continuing to give chase into the streets and up the road. However his exaustion at the night's events caught up to him, and he found himself slowing down to his dismay. The man did not falter in his sprint, continuing at the same pace until he was eventually out of Alfred's sight. Alfred gasped despairingly, trying desperately to keep running, but found himself to tired to continue. He slowed to a stop, panting extremely hard and his legs throbbing, and fell to his knees in the middle of the road.

"God dammit!" He punched the ground in frustration, panting and quivering. He was supposed to be a hero! But he couldn't even save his best friend when he needed him most. _What kind of a friend and hero am I?_

Alfred's phone started to ring in his pocket, making him jump as he was not expecting any sort of noise. He contemplated just ignoring it, but told himself that it could be important, and so pulled it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID.

Matthew.

Having not seen Matthew since the wolf incident, Alfred answered the phone, eager to know if his twin was alright.

"Matt-"

"Alfred! Where are you!"

Alfred was taken aback at how distressed Matthew was. He sounded as if he was trying his hardest to keep his voice steady, and it also sounded rough, as if he'd been yelling too loudly.

"I - I'm up the road, Matt, what's-"

"It's Francis!"

_Francis?_

"Francis? What about him..?"

There was a brief pause in which Alfred swore he could hear Matthew crying, making him more worried than he was when he took the call.

"He, he, he's hurt really bad! Alfred, he might die!"

_Francis... might **die**!_

What the hell happened in that house since he left? Alfred hung up immedeately. There was no need for hesitation.

He needed to get back to the house. **_Now_**

**_

* * *

_**

_I feel wierd for writing a halloween fic right after Christmas. 8U_

_Anyway, yes. I have OC's in there. They are;_

_Geraint = Wales_

_Iain = Scotland_

_Isabeal = Ireland_

_Seanan = Northern Ireland._

_They're all mine~ I have another fic centred on them, if you're interested~ Just click my name and find it, it's the only other Hetalia fic I've , check my sketchblog if you want to have a rough idea of what they look like - KLFoxglove (dot) Blogspot (dot) Com.  
_

_The list of characters I've planned to appear is huuuuuge. I have the feeling this will be a very long fic. I mean, this is the longest chapter I've ever written to date! Over 5,000 words! Wow._

_Anyway, read, review, enjoy!_

_**~KLFoxglove**  
_


	2. Things Get Wierd

**Monsters!**

**Chapter Two**

**Things Get Wierd**

The journey back to Francis' house was a blur. Alfred's mind spun with everything that had happened so far. The power went out. The creepy giggling. The Howl. The growling. The wolf. The panic. The man. Arthur getting kidnapped.

And now Matthew had called him to say that Francis might die.

He walked as fast as he could - he couldn't run, he was far too exhausted from chasing the man that had taken Arthur - while replaying what happened in his head.

Over and over.

Too many things were happening at once. Something horrible was going to happen to Arthur, Alfred knew it. But with Matthew worried over Francis - who Alfred guessed was injured quite badly, if the "he might die!" line from Matthew was any indication - Alfred had to push his best friend's predicament to the back of his head for the time bieng. Matthew and Francis needed him.

Besides which, he had no idea where the man who'd taken him had gone to.

When he reached the house, he walked in, only to pause next to the broken door he was thrown into. He thought of Arthur again, and worried what would happen to him in the hands of someone so insanely strong. He shook his head. Matthew and Francis needed him more right now.

"Matthew?" He called, walking further down the hall, "I'm here, where are you?"

A door to a room at the back of the house flung open and a distressed Matthew tumbled out, his face flushed red and his eyes puffy. Alfred ran to his side immedeately.

"A-Alfred! Francis.. he's.." Alfred pulled his brother into a quick hug and reassured him that everything was going to be fine. Even though he felt that it probably wasn't. Matthew led Alfred into the room he'd stumbled out of, and, as he looked around the room, almost recoiled at what he saw.

When Matthew said Francis might die, he wasn't exaggerating.

The Frenchman was lying on the ground on his back, eyes closed and drenched in what Alfred knew was his own blood. He didn't have to stop and wonder what happened, he felt he knew it already. He walked forward, and knelt down beside Francis, trying to process the entire scene in his head.

"I've alr-ready called an amb-bulence, Alfred.." Matthew quietly sniffled behind him. Alfred stared hard at Francis for a moment before standing up and facing his upset brother.

"Mattie, you look like shit," He said bluntly, "I think you need to take some fresh air," He prompted, nudging his twin to the door and encouraging him out. Matthew hesitated a minute, his eyes flickering back and forth between his brother and Francis, before finally relenting and walking out of the room. When Alfred was satisfied he was far enough away, he turned to Francis again.

He was no doctor, but he was pretty sure Francis was already gone. Sighing and rubbing his eyes, telling himself he couldn't cry because he needed to be strong for Matthew, and then pulled off his bright orange jacket, placing it over Francis.

"I swear, Francis," He wispered, knowing that who he was speaking to wouldn't hear him, "If I find that wolf, I'll _slaughter_ it,"

He stood again, closing his eyes and taking in everything that had happened a second time. Instead of despairing over it, Alfred felt challenged. Whoever it was that had the guts to take Alfred was stronger and faster than any normal man. Alfred couldn't stand up to him then, but now felt as though he could. He opened his eyes again. He knew what he wanted to do. What he was going to do.

He was going to find Arthur, and beat the everloving shit out of the bastard who dared take him.

He left the room - only pausing a moment to look back at Francis - and went to find Matthew. His twin was sitting in Francis' garden, sobbing softly to himself. Alfred carefully sat down next to him, and pulled him into a hug to comfort him.

"Mattie, Arthur was kidnapped," While he didn't have the guts to tell Matthew about Francis, he decided to be as blunt as possible when telling him about Arthur. No need to beat around the bush. Matthew pulled away slightly to look at Alfred, startled. He opened his mouth to reply, but Alfred beat him to it. "I'm gonna go find him,"

Matthew broke out of the hug completely and leaped to his feet, looking at Alfred with a look that seemed to plead for him not to do anything stupid. "A-Alfred, you need to call the police about that! T-they can handle that better-"

"The police fuck things up all the time, Mattie!" Alfred interrupted, getting to his feet himself, "I'm the only one who can save him!"

"B-but Alfred, you _can't_-"

"**Matthew**" Alfred's unusually harsh way of saying his twin's name silenced Matthew momentarily. The two looked at each other, Matthew looking upset and worried, with Alfred looking deadly serious. "The guy who took Arthur, the police won't ever catch him," He calmly said, not once taking his eyes off his brother, "He easily doubled, no _tripled_ my running speed. He's _insanely_ strong, you should see the door to the living room, Matt, that happened because the guy **threw me into it**!"

"But, Alfred..." Matthew was at a loss for words. He didn't think Alfred would be able to find Arthur - how could he? He was hardly the most perceptive person - but nothing he could say would stop him.

"I'm gonna go find him, Mattie, don't worry," And with that, Alfred turned to walk through the house and out the front door again, and, summoning the strength he seemed to regain after catching his breath at the house, ran down the street again, determined to find Arthur.

Matthew stared at where his brother once stood. He wanted to stop him, to tell him it was no use, but would Alfred had listened? No, he wouldn't. Matthew didn't have the physical strength to restrain him, either. He sighed, and stared at the paved area of the garden he stood on.

_Alfred, you're an idiot, but... please, be careful_

**xoxox**

Alfred glanced at his watch. 11pm. Twenty minutes since the wolf came. Probably fifteen since Arthur was taken. He sighed to himself in frustration.

They could be _anywhere_.

He did tell Matthew he'd find Arthur, and he fully believed that himself, but now, as he walked down the street - he had been running, but he quickly got tired again - he seriously began to doubt his own claims. His phone vibrated in his pocket again, but he ignored it. Matthew had tried calling him twice already, and, thinking his brother just wanted to rant at him for his stupidity, Alfred refused to answer.

Looking to his right, Alfred noticed a footpath leading into a wooded area. He'd been down that path before, with Arthur and Matthew, but not during the night. The trees, the gentle breeze and dim light of the streetlamps made the area look very creepy, and Alfred supressed a shiver. Yet, as he continued to stare, the desire to walk down that path grew stronger.

_What is it with me and creepy places?_ He chastised himself, stopping in front of the path and looking down it. _They scare the shit outta me, but I can't keep away from the damned places!_

Alfred decided to go with his desire and begun walking down the path, the area getting progressively darker the further away he walked from the road. He kept looking back a few times, getting more nervous the further he walked. He thought about Matthew again, and seriously wondered wether he should have listened to him about calling the police. He sighed, placed his hands in his pockets, and looked to his feet.

_What kind of hero am I..._

"Why do you look so troubled, comrade?" Came a heavy, accented voice from nowhere, startling Alfred enough to make him jump slightly. "Oh! Excuse me, I did not mean to startle you," The voice giggled. Alfred looked up ahead of him, and could vaguely see someone standing on the path before him.

It was too dark to make out the person's features, but Alfred knew it was a man, from the tone of voice he used. He was very tall, taller than Alfred himself, and the American could fainlty see that he was wearing some sort of cape. He stared for a moment, unsure of what to do since the man's simple presense was making him shiver. The man, seemingly sensing Alfred's nervousness, gave a smile that Alfred barely saw and tried to look as harmless as he could.

"Do not worry, I only wish to help," Listening carefully, Alfred thought the man's accent sounded Russian, but then, he really couldn't be sure, since he was never good at guessing the origins of accents anyway. Forcing himself to relax slightly, he wondered wether the man could have seen Arthur's kidnapper.

"Um, well, y'see," He began, shuffling in place, "There was this dude, and he broke into my friend's house, and he totally kidnapped my best friend! So I'm trying to find them now,", Alfred looked to the man, who was still smiling to the point where it began to look creepy.

"I see. Tell me, comrade, what did this person look like?" He asked, tilting his head to side slightly.

"Uh, tall, not as tall as you, though, dark hair, looked like a creepy stalker," Alfred began to describe the man to the best of his knowledge, finding it difficult to really remember his image correctly.

"I see," the man replied. Despite his thoughts about if this man could help him or not, Alfred felt himself get very nervous. While the man sounded as if he wanted to help, the way he said it made Alfred feel uncomfortable. Apparently, the man noticed Alfred's nervousness, and gave a slight giggle and seemed to be smiling quite brightly again.

"There is no need to be nervous around me, " He reassured, though it really didn't help much, "If my anonymity is what is causing discomfort, then allow me to introduce myself. I am Ivan Braginsky,"

Suddenly, as if recieving Ivan's name was some sort of power in itself, Alfred felt slightly more relaxed. His doubts about the man started to fade, and he became more curious.

"Uh, hi, Ivan," He said carefully, not really knowing if using his first name was alright by him, "I'm Alfred F Jones," Alfred saw Ivan tilt his head slightly as he replied, and he wondered why he'd do that.

"Alfred F Jones," He repeated, saying the name as if it were some sort of enigma, "What does the F stand for?"

What does the F stand for? Now he was asking a too personal question! Alfred frowned, not even _Arthur_ knew what the F stood for!

_And no one ever WILL know, for as long as I live!_

"None of your business!" He blurted before he thought, he stiffened at his own rudeness almost immedeately, and spoke up again, "Uh, but, I-ivan, can you really help me..?"

Alfred saw the man nod slightly, "Da, of course I can," he replied, before walking towards Alfred. Alfred kept himself in place with mixed feelings of curiousity and nervousness. He'd be able to see Ivan better once he got close enough, and then he could probably see why his presence was making him edgy.

When Ivan got close enough, Alfred immedeately took note of his height. He gathered that he was tall already, but he was still surprised by _how_ tall. He hadn't met anyone that tall before, not even Iain was this big! He saw that his hair was pale in colour - it was too dark to make out colours accurately, but Alfred could see that it was lighter than his own hair - and it was cut short and kept tidy - tidier than Arthur's, even. Ivan also had a... unusal nose. Alfred somehow knew that it was probably not a good idea to bring it up. But there was something else much more interesting than the nose that Alfred noticed when Ivan finally stopped in front of him.

He had ears. Odd, rounded ears, covered in fur as light as his hair.

Alfred felt himself step back once, and he could not for the life of himself, take his eyes off Ivan's bizarre ears.

"W-what's.. up with your ears, dude?" He found himself saying, hardly believing the sight. Ivan giggled in amusement - as if he'd expected such a reaction - and smiled at him.

"They are mouse ears, Alfred," He stated as if it were blindingly obvious. _Well, dude, I can see that!_ "Are you wondering why I have mouse ears, comrade?" Alfred nodded slightly, "It is because I am a spirit"

Alfred flew straight into panic mode on hearing the word "spirit". _Spirit.. duude that's just another way of saying ghost!_ He backed up a bit, to Ivan's slight confusion, and tensed up.

"Y-you're a ghost..?" He squeaked. Ivan sighed to himself in amusement and smiled. Faster than Alfred could blink, Ivan moved forward to grab Alfred's wrist, taking him by suprise and causing him to gasp in fear. Ivan pulled the frightened American towards him and used his other hand to make Alfred look at his face.

"I suppose the media has been abusing the word Spirit quite a bit, da?" He stated, not once losing the smile on his face, "But worry not comrade, a Spirit is quite different from what you know as ghosts,"

One part of Alfred's mind reeled in panic still, while another slowly realised that what Ivan said was true, in a way. When Ivan's hand was pulled away from Alfred's face, he looked down at where Ivan's other hand was still grabbing his wrist. From what Alfred already understood of ghosts, it was that they couldn't physically touch anything, yet here Ivan was, freely grabbing him. His touch was also warm like a living bieng should be. The panic dissolved a lot more when Alfred realised Ivan's hands weren't exactly.. well, _hands_. They were paws, with fur the colour of Ivan's hair and ears, and tiny, barely noticeable claws sticking out of each "finger". Whatever a "Spirit" was, Alfred realised it was a whole lot different than ghosts.

"T-then," He began looking up at Ivan once again, "What exactly _is_ a spirit?". Ivan let go of Alfred's wrist finally, and stood straight.

"A supernatural creature, put simply," He began, "There are two types of Spirit, house spirit - which is what I am - and nature spirit. House spirits are, basically, shapeshifters. What we turn into depends on the spirit, for example, I turn into a cute little mouse," He paused to let the information sink in, "Do not ask why we are called spirits, for I do not know that myself. You understand now?"

"Yeah.." If Alfred was honest with himself, he'd admit to bieng wierded out by his meeting with Ivan. Sure, he thouroughly believed in ghosts and aliens, but shapeshifters? That was on a whole new level. And the more he thought about it, the more worried he got about Arthur. The man who took him was not normal by a long shot. Was he also a supernatural creature like Ivan? "Ivan.. you said you'd help me find Arthur, how.. how are you gonna do that?"

"Oh, that is simple," Ivan smiled, and pointed to his.. large nose. "I have a powerfull sense of smell, I could probably find your friend this way,", Alfred's mouth almost twitched into a smile, but he stopped himself. _Right.. sniff 'im out like a sniffer dog..._

"Okay then," Alfred shrugged and told himself to go along with it, he had no time to be wierded out again. Ivan smiled again - _He really likes to smile,_ - and turned around and began walking down the path. Alfred stared after him for a moment, briefly looking back towards the streets he had left behind, and back at Ivan again, who'd stopped to look back at Alfred.

"Come on, comrade, you want to find your friend, da?"

This time, Alfred genuinely smiled - _I'll find you Arthur,_ - and began following Ivan.

_Because I trust this guy to help me_

**xoxox**

_Out of everyone that was here, only Alfred had the mind to pick up his phone..._

Matthew sat on the curb in front of Francis' house, left forgotten by the police who were investigating the disturbance, and Francis' death.

_Francis.._

Matthew had a feeling that Alfred knew their friend had gone, and wondered why his twin didn't tell him sooner. _He was probably trying to protect me, with his stupid hero complex..._ He tried calling him numerous times, but grew more frustrated as his calls were ignored. _Al, you idiot_. The shy young man closed his eyes and wondered if he could have done anything different - anything - and if it could have saved Francis.

_Maybe.._

**_xoflashox_**

He darted as fast as his legs could carry him to the room next door, at the back of the house.

__

He barged in the room quite loudly, causing its occupants to jump in fright.

"Oy! Calm down, will you?" Came Iain's harsh voice, making Matthew wince slightly. The scotsman was knelt beside a couch upon which his younger half-sister Isabeal slept on - she'd drunk herself unconsious - while his other two younger half-brothers Geraint and Seanan stood nearby. Seanan looked slightly annoyed at Matthew, while Geraint seemed to be seeing the fright in his eyes.

"Matthew..? what's wrong..?" He asked worriedly, taking a few steps forward towards him.

"A very big dog just crashed through the window!" He exclaimed, keeping his voice from shaking as much as possible, "I-I'm not sure if we should be staying here, it looked pretty aggressive..". Iain grunted irritably, then scooped up Isabeal again before making his way to the door.

"I hope someone is keeping it busy, if I want to get this drunk little twit back to the dorms in one piece," He retorted, earning an exasperated "Don't talk about her like that!" from Seanan, who was following him very closely. The two left the room and exited the house through the back door, leaving Matthew alone with Geraint. Matthew looked at Geraint whose expression betrayed signs of worry.

"You should get going too," Matthew encouraged, walking to the door. Geraint hesitantly followed, but his mind was clearly on other things than getting away.

"What about Arthur?" He finally voiced, "He's still in the room.. right?"

"..Yeah," Matthew replied, walking up to the older man, "Don't worry about him, I'll get him, just go with Iain!", he started to encouragingly push Geraint out of the room, meeting very little resistance from the welshman, and as they neared the back door, they were met by Seanan, who immedeately grabbed Geraint's sleeve.

"Iain went through the woods behind the house, Geraint, I came back to get you!" He breathed, tugging on his older half brother's shirt.

"What? Why?" asked Geraint, looking down at Seanan.

"We went around the side of the house, but when we got to the front, Iain saw the front window was shattered, and we could hear the guys fighitng with the dog, and Iain didn't want to take any chances," The teenager explained, continuing to tug Geraint. "C'mon, Geraint, we need to catch up with Iain!"

Geraint gave a look to Matthew, one that told him that he was still worried about Arthur. Matthew said nothing, simply giving the man a determined stare. After a moment of silence and Seanan's "Let's _go_ now, jeez", Geraint nodded at Matthew and followed Seanan out of the house. Matthew followed too, stopping when he reached the patio, to see them rush into the woodland that looked so ominous at this time of the night. Matthew supressed a shiver as he watched them, and silently wished them luck. Taking in a breath, he walked back into the house.

In the minor excitement of Arthur's brothers, Matthew didn't concentrate on his surroundings, which meant that he was surprised and slightly worried at the sudden silence that drifted through his friends' house. Becoming slightly more nervous than before, he creeped down the dark corridor, tracing his fingers across the wall to help him navigate, until he came across the doorway of what he thought was the front room - the one the dog crashed through. Despite it bieng very dark, the small amount of light that shone from the lamposts outside gave Matthew enough light to see that the door was, at least, very damaged. Bieng carefull not to cut himself on the wooden splinters, he pushed the wrecked door open carefully, peering into the now empty and deathly quiet room. He saw that the room was a huge mess, cans and bottles were everywhere, some of Francis' cushions were torn as was one of his couches, and glass littered the floor from where the window was smashed into.

Matthew was worried, where had everyone gone to? Where was the dog? Was it outside? If so, then Geraint and his ragtag family were in danger. He walked across the room and located his mobile phone - thankfully undamaged - and contemplated on what to do. He needed to find Arthur, Geraint was counting on him to do so. He also wanted to know if Alfred was alright, as well as Francis. Hell, he wanted to know if 'everyone' was alright. It didn't matter that most of them hardly noticed him or even barely remembered his name, he just wanted to know if they were safe.

After realising that everyone had accidentally left their phones behind - Matthew could not understand _how_ - he walked back out into the hallway again, and began quietly calling out.

"Alfred?" He started with his brother, naturally, "Francis?". He crept along the hallway, walking towards the back of the house again, and was about to call Arthur's name, until he was interrupted.

By a series of terrified cries.

The noise was so sudden and loud that he simply froze in place. He couldn't even tell who was yelling, and that made him panic. Who's voice is it, and what the hell is happening to make them cry out like that? Telling himself that standing around like a terrified child wouldn't help at all, he began nervously creeping towards the source of the noise, which was the room opposite the one he and Arthur's siblings were in minutes before. The noises abruptly stopped, making Matthew stop as well. What did this mean? Did something... _terrible_ happen? His thoughts were interrupted by some very familiar growling.

_Oh God... the dog.._

Matthew crouched down to the ground instinctively, and tried keeping as quiet as possible. He listened to sounds of it moving around the room, while wondering if anyone was actually in there with it. After a moment, the house became quiet again, though Matthew remained frozen in place. He stayed this way for a few minutes, unsure of what to do. Taking a deep breath and clenching his fists, he told himself to be brave, and rose to his feet once again. He inched slowly to the door, half afraid of seeing the dog once he opened it, but also half hoping it would be empty. He took the handle in his hand, and slowly opened the door.

To his relief, the room appeared empty. The window was in pieces, but the room was otherwise relatively untouched. He thought for a moment that maybe whoever was in here with the dog had got away safely, which gave him some sort of comfort, but it all flew out the window when he caught sight of something sprawled on the ground.

_F.. Francis!_

**_xoFlashox_**

Matthew checked the time on his phone to shake him out of his thoughts. 11:05. To think, so much happened within one hour. The police had made no sign of acknowledgement of Matthew's presence at all, and that, coupled with the fact that Alfred was clearly ignoring him, made Matthew decide that it would be better to return to his dorm.

He walked away from his late friend's house at a lesurely pace, coming up with ways of making Alfred feel guilty for ignoring him.

He was quite a distance from the house when he suddenly got the feeling he was bieng followed. The feeling was backed up by someone calling him.

"Mattieu?". Matthew froze. _That accent.._ And only one person ever pronounced his name that way. _But that's..._

He whirled around to look at his would-be stalker, and swore his heart almost stopped when he caught sight of him.

_But.. no.. that's..._

"F-francis!"

_That's **impossible!**_

_**

* * *

**_

Wheeeeey, I updated!

**My sister:** About bloody time.

Sooo, yeah. Francis died, but what's this? He's reappeared at the end of the chapter? _Honhonhonhonhon~!_

Also, Ivan. Yes, I made him a shapeshifting mouse. Why not? (My sister can't wrap her head around this, lol). Also, Spirits? Made 'em up.

So yeah, Alfred's employed the help of Ivan to find Arthur, and what's this? Maybe his kidnapper isn't even human! _Suspense! Mystery!_ /sarcasm.

My sister reckons I write a good Ivan. Makes a change, she usually complains about when I get Alfred to accidentaly say something very British, huuuurrr. It helps to have a proof reader~.

Alright, sooo, I won't make any promises that ch3 won't take as long to finish at ch2 did, and I have a whole list of justifiable excuses to use, but none of them ring more true than _I'm just veeeery lazy_.

Just to tell you; I have eight chapters planned. I'm midway through planning the ninth chapter, which is when the adventure begins. Slow start! Also, I'm looking forward to writing ch4. lol I'm not saying why, _spoilersssss~!_

Also, please do tell me how well I write these characters, and your opinion of Arthur's dysfunctional family.

Also, in every Canada/Prussia fic I read, Prussia calls Canada "Birdie". _Whyyyy_? Not that I hate it, but I wanna know.

~KLFoxglove


	3. This Makes Reality A Little Strange

**Monsters!**

**Chapter Three**

**This Makes Reality A Little Strange**

Alfred was wondering to himself if his judgement of character was as bad as Arthur said.

But dismissed it when he looked at Ivan again.

The night had been strange so far; first a power outage at Francis' place. Then a wolf came crashing through the window, even though they were in England and wolves don't live in England. Then Arthur got kidnapped by an insanely strong, extremely fast man. Then Francis died. Then he met Ivan, a Spirit, which was some sort of shapeshifter. Ivan hadn't been very descriptive of his own species.

He was now following Ivan as the tall man _supposedly_ followed a scent trail like some sort of sniffer dog - which he wasn't, because he was some kind of mouse. Alfred's thoughts on him fluctuated wildly, one minute he trusted him whole heartedly, the next he was terrified he was making a huge mistake in following him. Either way, Alfred knew something was off about him.

But he had no time with conflicting feelings, not when Arthur's life could be in danger. So here he was. Following a supernatural creature like it was perfectly normal to do so. He had filled the Spirit in on most of what happened alongside Arthur getting kidnapped, but hadn't elaborated much.

"Say, comrade," Ivan suddenly asked, bringing Alfred's attention back to the real world, "you talked about the wolf crashing into your friend's house, what happened to it?"

"Huh? I locked it in Francis' living room," Alfred replied, matter-of-factly, before his face contorted with horror and realisation, "No! That's not right.. the window was broken.. it escaped and killed Francis.."

_What if Francis wasn't the only victim?_ Alfred briefly thought to himself, _No, no, no thinking like that, heroes don't think like that! I think..._

"Um, why did you wanna know, Ivan?" Alfred asked, pushing the thoughts away for now. The taller man shrugged and continued looking ahead.

"I was only curious, comrade," He stated. Alfred narrowed his eyes, and slowed down enough that he was now walking directly behind him. There had to be more to it than just curiosity. Alfred wasn't normally this perceptive about these things, his concern for Arthur probably making him notice more than usual. As Alfred thought about what Ivan wanted by knowing what happened to wolf, Ivan suddenly stopped walking. Alfred almost walked into him, had he not looked up at the right moment.

"Uh, Ivan, dude," He began, walking to Ivan's side, "Why'd you stop?". The tall Russian turned his head to face Alfred with an expression so serious, Alfred had to repress a shudder.

"I smell something dangerous," He stated cooly, "Stick close,"

"Dangerous? Dangerous how?" Alfred asked, cocking an eyebrow. Ivan's expression remained the same, and he turned his head to face the direction ahead of them and reached an arm back to pull Alfred close. The American was very uncomfortable at bieng so close to Ivan, but the Spirit's grip was inhumanly strong - _duh it is, he's not human_ - and forcing him to stay in place.

"I believe you will find out soon," Ivan's reply came, not quite reassuring Alfred in any way. Ivan began moving again, dragging Alfred along and not daring to remove his grip on his arm. Whatever it was that Ivan scented, made him go on high alert. Alfred thought Ivan's strange behaviour from before was unsettling at times, his behaviour right now was even more so. There was no sign of the shudder-inducing smile on Ivan's face, just a stone cold serious expression. The whole thing made Alfred very nervous, though he tried to best to hide it.

**_HoooOOOwwwWWwww..._**

Ivan stopped walking the moment he heard the distant howl. The sound sent shivers down Alfred's spine, as it was near identical to the way the wolf howled. Had it followed him here? Alfred hoped not - desperatly so. Ivan's grip on Alfred tightened, and he let out a small growl himself.

"The beast has followed us,"

That was _not_ what Alfred wanted to hear.

**xoxox**

He stared. It was the only thing he could do. After all, the man in front of him was supposed to be dead.

"_Oui_, Matthieu, it's me," Francis reassured, or at least, _tried_ to reassure. Matthew could not understand what he was seeing - the image of Francis' body kept popping up in his head as he tried to do so - and didn't know wether this was actually real or if he was somehow dreaming.

_Oh if only... if this is just a dream then Francis wouldn't be..._

"M-matthieu?" Francis inquired, looking at his friend worriedly. He gave himself a once over and looked back at Matthew. Was this going to be easy to explain? Or difficult? Matthew wasn't as frightened by ghosts as Alfred was - then again, he never believed in them in the first place. "L-look, Matthieu, I'm here! I know I've died, but.." He tried walking towards Matthew, but he kept backing off.

_This isn't real... this isn't real..._ Matthew told himself over and over again. This was reality, not fantasy!

"Matthieu, please! I'm real, I'm here! Please see that.." Francis ran quickly towards Matthew, trying to grab his arm but cursing to himself when his hand only went through it. Matthew jumped back and yelped with shock, rubbing his arm. The moment Francis had made contact with it, it became freezing cold, enough to surprise Matthew greatly.

_Isn't that.. what happens when ghosts..?_

"Mathieu, will you listen?" Francis began again, this time Matthew looked at him directly, "Yes, I've died, but I'm still here, am I not?"

Matthew looked at his friend - colourless and slightly transparent - and felt sorrow at the situation. Francis really was here, but in a form that prevented him from interacting with the living world. What kind of existance was that?

"F-francis.." Matthew began, but started to sputter again, before he really knew what he was doing, he was suddenly spilling to Francis everything that had happened while he wasn't looking; namely Arthur's kidnapping and Alfred's reckless heroic search. Francis listened intently, with seriousness that looked foreign on him.

"Alfred's such an idiot, I told him not to go, but he did anyway..."

"Matthieu, _mon cher_," Francis interjected, "Perhaps we should search, too?" Matthew nearly fell backwards, what was Francis suggesting?

"W-what?" Was the only thing Matthew could say to that.

"I get the feeling that whoever took Arthur was not quite normal, you said he threw Alfred through a door? Then perhaps the British Law would not be able to apprehend him," Francis stated.

"T-that's the point! If he could do that, then what else could he do! We're no match for someone like that!"

"It doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Remember, Matthieu, I'm dead, there's not much more that could be done to me,"

The two stood in silence for a moment, Matthew taking in what Francis had said, and Francis awaiting a reply patiently. Eventually, Matthew sighed, and looked Francis square in the eyes.

"..Where do we start?"

**xoxox**

Alfred could swear if Ivan held onto his arm any tighter, it'd fall off. They stood for a minute just listening to the sound of soemthing - the wolf, Ivan said, - coming closer and closer. Alfred wondered what standing still and letting it come to them would do, then wondered if Ivan planned on fighting it. _That would be epic,_

"Ivan," Alfred looked up at him, "What'll you do when the wolf gets here?"

"I have quite a few things I am capable of doing once it gets here, comrade," He simply stated. Alfred had to repress another involuntary shiver, Ivan was proving to be very scary at the moment. The sounds of something pounding against the dirt eventually got loud enough that Alfred decided to look at where Ivan was staring, and when he did, he had to stop himself from gasping.

It was the wolf after all, he could clearly see it running towards them. Ivan pulled Alfred a lot closer in response, and started growling quietly again. It was the growling that constantly reminded Alfred that Ivan wasn't human, and also what partially made him nervous. The wolf eventually came to a stop a few feet in front of them, and just stared.

It did nothing else.

"You will go away, foul beast, or I will slay you," Ivan growled, though the wolf seemed to completely ignore him.

_Why isn't it attacking?_ Alfred thought, looking the wolf dead in the eyes,_ And.. why do I feel calm all of a sudden? I feel.. I feel like I can trust it, but why?_

The wolf broke eye contact with Alfred to stare at the ground and whine softly to itself. Alfred looked in with mixed confusion and curiosity, was this even the same wolf after all? He looked up at Ivan, whose expression was actually softening a bit for some reason.

"Ivan, what's it doing?"

"Shifting form," Ivan replied.

Alfred blinked. "...Huh?"

"Look at it, Alfred," Ivan stated. Alfred did.

And his eyes widened in surprise.

The wolf really was changing shape, become more humanoid by the second. The change was punctuated by it whining every few seconds, indicating that changing like this was painfull for it. When it finished, it was, for all intents and purposes, a human, but with it's forearms and feet replaced by brown, fur covered paws, and also sporting a pair of ears and tail. Alfred was both speechless, and amazed.

"That is a werewolf, Alfred," Ivan informed him, but he didn't need to, Alfred already knew. He squinted to look at the werewolf more closely, noticing something odd. It's wolfish parts were brown, but it's hair was a light blonde. As the werewolf lifted his head - Yes, his, Alfred realised this at that very moment - Alfred became even more suprised as he recognised who it was.

"Ludwig!"

* * *

_I spent nearly two months writing this! D; It's not nearly as good as the previous two chapters..._

_Ahh, anyway. I did warn you guys, I'm lazy._

_Haha, maybe the next chapter'll come in another month or two, who knows? _

_I'm writing the next chapter RIGHT NOW to get a headstart on myself (?). So yeah._

_Oh yeah, Ludwig! Hmmm.._

_~KLFoxglove_


End file.
